Alaska and Montana Team Up for Tech-onomic Development

The MSU TechLink Center and the Juneau Economic Development Council are bridging 1700 miles to form a partnership that will drive economic growth in Alaska’s technology sector.

The Northern Technology Partnership was created after representatives of five Alaskan economic development organizations and the University of Alaska visited TechLink, TechRanch, and Montana State University in February. Lance Miller, executive director of the Juneau Economic Development Council, was one of the Alaskan visitors. "There is synergy between the university, TechLink, TechRanch and the private sector," Miller said. "We are interested in doing some of the same innovative things to stimulate our high-tech economy."

This month, Miller and Will Swearingen, executive director of TechLink, shook hands on a partnership agreement that Miller hopes will help drive Alaska’s economy by opening the doors to federal laboratories and technologies. "TechLink has a good track record," Miller said, referring to TechLink’s statistics.

"We have helped more than 70 Montana companies to develop, license, and commercialize new technology through partnerships with the Department of Defense, NASA, and other federal agencies," Swearingen said. "We’ve also helped Montana companies to obtain over $15 million in funding from the federal government over the past three years." With TechLink’s assistance over the next five years, Miller hopes to tout similar statistics for Alaska.

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About TechLink

TechLink is funded by the Department of Defense and NASA to create partnerships between those agencies and private industry to develop and move technology to market. It was recently named one of ten exemplary models nationwide of technology transfer by the US Department of Commerce. TechLink is the technology transfer arm of Montana State University (MSU) and is located in the Advanced Technology Park near the MSU campus in Bozeman.
http://techlink.msu.montana.edu/techlink.html

About Juneau Economic Development Council

The JEDC works to enhance quality of life by actively promoting economic diversity and sustainable development in Juneau, Southeast Alaska and through specific Alaska wide programs. The JEDC assists businesses in creating family wage jobs with business counseling, revolving loan fund and sector-specific programs, as well as serving as the overall economic and development planning agency for the city and borough of Juneau. For information, visit the website: http://www.jedc.org

CONTACTS:

Will Swearingen
MSU TechLink
406-994-7704
[email protected]

Lance Miller
Juneau Economic Development Council
907-463-3662
[email protected]

http://techlink.msu.montana.edu/articles/techonomic.html